Biomarkers for electromagnetic exposures to future wireless systems – BioREF

Possible health hazards due to utilization of electromagnetic field in telecommunication technologies represent nowadays a major public worry. Due to the saturation of the lower part of the electromagnetic spectrum and the need of very high data rate transmissions, the operating frequencies of emerging civil and professional wireless communication systems have recently shifted towards new frequencies such as millimeter waves (MMW). Following significant research efforts undertaken in the field of MMW technologies, some general public applications have already been introduced on the market. These near-future wireless technologies increase the number of electromagnetic sources and will modify the characteristic of exposure. Some of them will be directly on contact with human being (body area networks and on-body communications), and/or increase the chronic long-term exposures of workers. All this raised the question about potential health risks related to their utilization. As some of these artificially induced radiations are absent in our natural environment and might interfere with biological systems, the possible relationship between the exposure and diseases has been amplified by mass media. In this framework, the knowledge of the influence of electromagnetic waves on the biological systems and particularly on the human body is of uppermost importance and necessitates preventive rather than reactive research. French authorities including AFSSET are currently investigating this question; however relevant scientific data at these frequencies are extremely poor.

The present project is proposed by two collaborating teams which have strong experiences in the fields of i) transcriptional regulation and biological response to cellular stresses ; ii) telecommunication and electromagnetic field, respectively. The major objective of this interdisciplinary project is to investigate in depth the potential direct and/or synergistic biologic effects of various low-power MMW radiations, and to assess the risks related to the exposures of emerging wireless MMW applications using human cell models. This project perfectly fits to the first research axes of the “Contaminants, Ecosystèmes, Santé (CES, 2010)” topic of the call for proposals. Moreover, this project extends our previous research activities in the framework of the ANR project entitled « Health impacts of millimeter wave radiations (Himwr) - Programme Santé-environnement et Santé-travail -SEST 2006 ».
In the first part, we will continue further explore the most promising results of our previous ANR project. Few genes involved in immunity and inflammation were found to be down-regulated at 60.4 GHz in a power-density dose manner. Secondly, we will perform DNA microarray screening, to identify new potential MMW-exposure impacts upon cellular processes. These genes will serve as biomarkers to asses the impact of physical parameters of MMW (power, frequency, exposure duration and modulation) at cellular levels. This study will be completed by an original approach based on the study of individual cells. Using the Cellomics technology, we will analyse the heterogeneity degree of the sensitivity to MMW in cellular population.
All together, this work will contribute to the knowledge of mechanisms involved in bioelectromagnetic interactions. It responds to a strong public concern because there is a scientific gap and high social need in the understanding of potential biological and health impacts. Moreover, this work will provide relevant and extensive scientific data for future definition of international safety standards and recommendations regarding to the near-future wide deployment of new wireless MMW communication system for domestic, office, and professional uses.